If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Adjusting to the Post-Dunhill, Post-McClelland World

I've gotten over the loss of these two historical brands, but adjusting my rotation hasn't been as hard as I first thought. The good news is that certain Dunhill blends are still available for smoking and cellaring and, for me, that means DF and DDF although my back-up Dunhill source is out of DDF right now. The bad news is that McClelland made blends that I don't think that I can replace with other blends. Tudor Castle, Blackwoods Flake, St. James Flake, Matured VA #22 Flake, all favorites of mine, are gone forever and disappeared so quickly that I didn't have the chance to get any for the cellar. So now what do we do?

I've luckily stumbled across two winners, Solani VA Flake (a VAPer) and MacBaren's HH Pure VA Flake to fill the holes in my standard rotation. I've never even considered the Solani #633 before and never had found any of the MacBaren's blends to my jaded liking until now. Then I thought that it was time to revisit OGS, a tobacco that I've always liked, smoked a lot of early in my VA flake career, and have added it to the rotation as well. The bottom line is that, although I could cry into my pipe, I've been motivated enough to go out, find out, and try out a couple of great tobacco in this post-Dunhill, post-McClelland world. Do I think these are second-rate tobacco blends that I've had to settle for? Not one bit.

Now we seem to be faced with a shortage of Wessex Brown VA Flake, BBF, and FVF. It's always something, but I certainly appreciate what tobaccos that I currently have.

We can't buy American tobaccos here in Europe, so the loss of McClelland doesn't disrupt my smoking, but still it's always sad to see tobaccos disappear no matter their unavailability here. A good pipe friend sent me a sample of '5100' and I liked that a lot, but now I can forget about getting any more.

Dunhill is another matter. In their latest newsmail, The Danish Pipe Shop wrote that they still have supplies for the next 18 months, so "...no reason to panic... yet.". Of course it'll be strange when Dunhill tobaccos are gone, since they've been here for so long. 965 got me started on Latakia and I've loved it ever since. (DW begs to differ).
A great deal of my favourite tobaccos have disappeared since I started out all those years ago, but there are still great tobaccos out there and I'm not really given to lamenting tobaccos I can no longer get.
But still...

I will miss McC 2015 VaPer, 2020 Broken Flake Va, and to a lesser extent 2051 Va. I've probably smoked others purchased from local stores under their own name, but I wouldn't know it now. The one that intrigued me that I never sampled was Christmas Cheer and I never acted on it. However I will get the chance as I have 2 tins tucked away provided to me by Dave. I came to the McC tobaccos late as the bulks available here were mostly Stokkebye and one other co. I can't remember the name of.

Dunhill has never been a readily available tobacco in my locale as the small smoke shops carry nothing but Petersons' tobaccos. The only Dunhill sources are the boutique pipe shops which to my knowledge there are 3 within 100 miles of me. I know I have smoked 965 and really didn't think it deserved any "gold" medal.

Okay so in the end I'm not going to miss a whole heck of a lot. There is the concern however that the next one that closes would be a lot more devastating. For example the loss of G H & Co or the Samuel line would likely give me reason to go cigs only.

Aye Russ, baccy be like an olde lover... Whist they be wit us they be pleasant, giving and grand to 'ave around.. then one day we spy a nother on the 'orizon and set said; aft that'un all the while we keeps returning to the one we really love... Then one day the wench 'as enough o our runnin aft the new and she sails off into the sunset t be just a memory o days gone bye... we panic, we look e'rewhere fer her but, alas to no avail she be gone... then one day, a mate say's he 'as a tin to share, and the joy returns if but fer a brief time, and the memories comes floodin back bringing a smile to our lips and fog begins to set in round our minds... Oh the memories we will be 'avin in the future bout baccies gone on to olde Hob...

One such baccy I fell in heavy love was The Flying Dutchman back in the '70's... Then a mate in a nother forum sent me the contents of an open 43 yr olde tin he found amongst his dad's possessions, twas dry as tinder, but wit a wee help from rehydration it smoked just as my memory recalled...

Alas poor Yorich, I knew him(baccy) well...

"All I ask is a tall ship and a star to sail her by." - John Masefield

"It is not that life ashore is distasteful to me. But life at sea is better." — Sir Francis Drake, Sea Captain

Aye, Cap'n, tis an adventure, it tis. I'm sure that SG will see increased sales as will others as pipers go to other blends. The real problem now is getting in enough of the SG favorites in stock long enough to allow customers to buy them! Wessex Campaign Dark Flake and Brown VA Flake have been gone for a while now, so I suspect they've been raided by ye plunderers as the "next on the list".

We can't buy American tobaccos here in Europe, so the loss of McClelland doesn't disrupt my smoking, but still it's always sad to see tobaccos disappear no matter their unavailability here. A good pipe friend sent me a sample of '5100' and I liked that a lot, but now I can forget about getting any more.

Dunhill is another matter. In their latest newsmail, The Danish Pipe Shop wrote that they still have supplies for the next 18 months, so "...no reason to panic... yet.". Of course it'll be strange when Dunhill tobaccos are gone, since they've been here for so long. 965 got me started on Latakia and I've loved it ever since. (DW begs to differ).
A great deal of my favourite tobaccos have disappeared since I started out all those years ago, but there are still great tobaccos out there and I'm not really given to lamenting tobaccos I can no longer get.
But still...

I am with Jesper on this one,living in Europe I have never tried any McClellands blends so wont miss them but its always sad to see a blender stop.
However I like Dunhill Nightcap and 965 I will need to find replacements.To me personally if G&H went away that would be a disaster as I love several of there flakes and plugs and was disapointed to find Dark Plug scented is discontinued but at least they still do the Flake version